


The Winter Celebration of a Lifetime! [title no longer pending]

by mezzosesu



Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: Deltarune Pacifist Route, Deltazine, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Slice of Life, Zine piece
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-11-05 16:39:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17922464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mezzosesu/pseuds/mezzosesu
Summary: Kris and Susie decide to show Ralsei fun winter activities from their world!Ralsei is only slightly concerned.





	The Winter Celebration of a Lifetime! [title no longer pending]

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This piece was made for Deltazine, a Deltarune zine dedicated to Chapter 1 of Deltarune! I chose the prompt "Winter Celebrations", and I had so much fun writing this! You can check out their tumblr here: [ Deltazine ](deltazine.tumblr.com)

“Do you guys get snow here or what?” Susie asked, scooping out a handful of salsa from the tree stump. She offered a portion of it to Kris, who took it with a nod of thanks, before gobbling down her own share greedily.

Ralsei glanced at the two of them with a puzzled expression. When the two had come through the portal to visit him, he had expected to show them around the Dark World, to take them to places that they had missed on their first adventure. However, for some reason, both Susie and Kris had been excited about the Tree Stump Salsa, a recently coined term for the weird mess of goop Susie and Lancer had shared from a honeypot in, well, the stump of a tree.

He didn’t quite see the appeal of eating food from an unknown tree, but he wasn’t going to stop them from having their fun.

“Yes? It isn't a lot, usually, but it makes the scenery look pretty! What about you guys?” He glanced over at Kris expectantly, hoping to bring them into the conversation. Even though the three of them had become friendly after the fight against the King, he was still a little wary around Susie and preferred to have Kris engaged until he felt a little more comfortable.

Kris put a hand to their chin in thought. After a moment, they said that it snowed quite a bit in their world. Sometimes it was enough to cancel school, which made all the students happy.

Ralsei frowned slightly. “While I don’t really understand your world that well, I can’t imagine school is that bad. After all, who doesn’t like learning?”

“Nerd,” Susie coughed. Kris snorted beside her, and Ralsei felt his frown deepen.

“Hey, I like learning!” The other two only snorted harder. Ralsei let it go with a sigh. At least they were having a good time, even if it was at his expense. “So, what do you two do when you have the time off?”

“Well, I don't know about this nerd--” Susie jerked a thumb at Kris before continuing-- “But I like to go sledding. I have a really cool one that I take to the tallest hill in town to make all the other losers jealous!”

Kris informed him that Susie's ‘cool’ sled was nothing more than a thick sheet of metal, much to Susie's dismay.

“Hey! That's still plenty cool! I bet you don't do anything but hang around with your mom and bake dumb pies.”

Kris nodded, giving Susie a thumbs-up.

“Wait, really?”

Another nod.

Susie groaned and rubbed a hand over her face. “Man, Kris, we gotta get you out of the house. Ugh, anyway, what about you, Ralsei? I bet you get to do a lot of neat sh--stuff. Since, you know, you don't have school or anything taking up all your time.”

“Well, I’m by myself a lot so I don’t really get to do much... B-but don’t worry! I’m okay being by myself.”

“Wait, you’ve never had friends before, right?”

“I wouldn’t say never--”

“And you don’t do any sort of exciting stuff in the winter?”

“I mean no, but--”

“Alright, Kris, grab the nerd,” Susie barked, getting to her feet. “We’re gonna show him the time of his life!”

She strapped her ax to her back and put her hands on her hips decisively. Before Ralsei could wrap his head around what was happening, Kris buried their arms underneath his armpits and hoisted him up.

“W-wait, where are we going?!” Ralsei squeaked in alarm as he squirmed in Kris’s hold. Kris barely budged and only seemed to grip Ralsei tighter, much to his chagrin. Neither friend answered him as they started walking toward the Field’s entrance, leaving Ralsei to get dragged along, confused and slightly terrified at whatever was about to happen next.

✧*:・゚✧ ✧*:・゚✧ ✧*:・゚✧

The first stop on their way to the ‘Winter Celebration of a Lifetime! [title pending]’ was to the Dimensional Door. Susie had been bashful when Ralsei had innocently asked why and had admitted that she wanted to invite Lancer on their fun adventures. He knew they were close, and even though he and Lancer had been on opposite sides only a short time ago, Ralsei liked him. Besides, the more the merrier, right?

Susie led their party through the doorway, and when they exited Ralsei found himself glancing up at the exterior of the Card Castle. The walls were pitch black, clashing harshly with the bright suit cards framing the edges of the building. Despite seeing this place more than a few times on his excursions, he could never get used to how eerie it was.

The three of them approached the Castle doors, Susie in front, Kris behind her, and Ralsei...

“Ummm, Kris?” Ralsei asked, still trapped in their arms. “I can walk by myself now so, uh... you don’t need to carry me.” He felt the air of Kris exhaling against his neck and then nearly jumped when Kris rubbed their face against his fur. He was on the precipice of asking what they were doing when he heard the content sigh. Right, Kris was addicted to hugging him, weren’t they?

“Okay, um, nevermind, this is fine.”

They took the elevator up to the fifth floor, and after passing by Roulxs Kaard’s shop and walking up a couple of flights of steps, found themselves face to face with the acting king Lancer himself. “Hey, it’s the Lancer Fan Club!” Lancer exclaimed, jumping out of his chair. He made a beeline for Susie, opening his arms wide for a hug. Surprisingly, Susie allowed it, wrapping him up in a large hug that made Ralsei smile. Looked like she had learned something from Kris’s ACTing lessons after all.

After a beat, Susie remembered herself and broke the hug with an embarrassed blush. She stepped back in line with Kris and Ralsei.

“Ahem, King Lancer, nice to see you again.”

“It’s great to see you too, Susie, Prince, blue person whose name I’ve forgotten!” Ralsei glanced up at Kris but they merely shrugged as if to say, ‘eh, doesn’t bother me’. “What brings you guys here?”

“Ralsei here--” Susie pointed at Ralsei, who waved shyly in response--”Has never done any sort of fun winter activities, can you believe it?”

Lancer gasped. “No!”

“I know! We’re gonna go do some fun stuff with him, like sledding! Want to come with?”

Lancer’s smile fell slightly, and he looked down at his hands. “While I would love to come help show that Delectable Apple Pie--”

Was _that_ what he called him?

“-- a super fun time, I can’t just leave! I have too many Dadly duties to attend to. But, I can tell you guys where the best place to sled is. It’s my special spot, but for you clown--er, I mean best pals, I’ll make an exception and tell you.”

Ralsei looked at Susie. Despite her nonchalant expression, her shoulders were slumped and her fingers clenched down at her sides. However, instead of voicing her disappointment Susie only grinned.

“That sounds great Lancer, thanks!”

As the two of them exchanged info, Ralsei whispered to Kris, “Susie sure has changed, huh? She used to be a little... trying to deal with, but now she’s really nice!”

Kris hummed thoughtfully into his fur. They said that while Susie might be a little rough around the edges, she was very loyal to her friends, and that when she promised something she worked hard to stick with it.

“Friends...” Ralsei glanced over at Susie, who was laughing uproariously at something Lancer had said to her. Ever since they had met, he had considered her a friend, but did she consider them friends now as well? Was that why she was so insistent on helping him?

Susie walked back over and waved a piece of paper in her hands excitedly. “Okay, I know where to go! Let’s go have some fun!”

✧*:・゚✧ ✧*:・゚✧ ✧*:・゚✧

“Um... Are you sure about this?” Ralsei squeaked, peering down and over the cliffside. When Susie had mentioned a ‘hill’, he had imagined something small and unassuming, like the little slope he saw in the Forest. The Darkner guards always seemed to enjoy sliding down it, and he bet he would’ve enjoyed it too, especially with his friends. He could imagine rolling down with Susie and Kris and landing in a giggling pile at the bottom. It also would’ve felt more wintery, especially since the whole idea about doing this was for the ‘Winter Celebration of a Lifetime [title still pending]’.

Instead, Ralsei stood at the edge of a very large cliff, one that he recognized as near his own vacant kingdom. Dark, sludge-like water flowed out a crack slightly below the drop, preventing him from seeing the bottom. Even though he knew it ended in a sizable water puddle, the sight unnerved him. He wouldn’t call this a slope, more like a 90-degree drop straight down. The small sled made of sticks and rope wouldn’t help him slide down this at all. That was if it even survived the fall. He peeked back timidly at Susie and Kris who were on separate sleds of their own. He had pitched making a sled that would be able to house the three of them but quickly found that the materials available to them didn’t make that possible.

“I’m having second thoughts...” Stammered Ralsei.

“Oh, come ON.” Susie slammed the ground with her palm. “Kris and I have slid down this hill before and we’re fine!”

 _‘That’s because you two are almost indestructible,’_ Ralsei wanted to say but decided to refrain. “I don’t know...”

“Don’t be a pansy! Kris, say something to him!”

Ralsei glanced at Kris hopefully. They were much more level-headed than Susie; surely, they would see what a bad idea this was and call it off, right? Kris flicked their gaze from Ralsei to the escarpment, and after a moment gave Ralsei an enthusiastic thumbs-up. It was supposed to read as ‘Good luck! It’ll be fun’, Ralsei supposed, but all he could hear was: ‘I’ll make sure to bury you with your favorite things!’

Sighing, Ralsei placed the sled on the cliff edge and took a seat in the middle of it. He peered over his feet at the drop below and immediately regretted it. This was crazy, crazy and ridiculous, ridiculous and downright stupid. But... he’d do it for friendship. His stomach heaved terribly as he scooted the sled forward an inch and, after a quick prayer and a farewell smile to his friends, pushed himself over the ledge.

The scenery whizzed by in a blur as Ralsei fell at breakneck speeds. He tried to scream, but the only sound that came out of his mouth was an unholy cross between a bleat and a wheeze. Distantly he could hear Susie’s loud whooping and, if he focused really hard, Kris’s armor clanging against itself. At some point, the fall became too much for Ralsei, and white spots appeared behind his eyes, growing larger by the second. He wondered if he was dying. Was this the bright light of the Deltarune whisking him away to the other side?

When Ralsei came to, he let out a stuttered gasp. His SOUL thumped in his chest and he realized that, yes, he did just do that. He had taken a sled and had just... pushed himself off. An odd mix of fear and exhilaration threatened to come back for a repeat performance, but eventually both petered out to leave Ralsei simply exhausted. He slowly opened his eyes, pushing himself into a sitting position. His body ached in protest, and he couldn’t help the small groan that escaped him. Splintered wood dug into the back of his robe (thankfully the material was thick enough to prevent it from piercing through), and nearby he heard the other two stumbling to their feet as well.

“You alive, goat boy?” Susie called, closer than he had realized, and before he knew it she was whisking him to his feet. “I kinda forgot how tough that damn hill was. How are you feeling?”

“Still alive, miraculously,” Ralsei said. He used his hands to dust off the wood and debris from his clothing, and when he was done he smiled at Susie. “That was exciting... but maybe a little too exciting for me. A-ah, but I still had fun though, promise!”

Susie laughed and clapped a hand on Ralsei’s shoulder firmly. “Don’t worry pal, I know this was kind of a bust, but I’m hap--er, I mean--” She coughed. “You didn’t die, so that’s good. Anyway, it’s Kris’s turn for an activity now. They mentioned wanting to bake or something, right Kris?”

Ralsei heard a soft approving noise behind him.

Susie nodded. “That’s more up your alley, yeah?”

“I do love to bake! But... I don’t have any baking materials, unfortunately.”

Another gloved hand made its home on Ralsei’s shoulder, and he turned around to come face-to-face with Kris. They had a glint in their eye, and Ralsei gulped.

Susie laughed. “Ha, can’t win against Kris when they get that determined! Ready to go?”

On one hand, he was sure that he was done with his friend’s plans for Winter Celebrations [is this really the title we’re going with?]. He was tired, achy, and nowhere near clean enough to be in the same vicinity as food. But on the other hand, it would be rude to leave his friends hanging, especially when they were working so hard to give him a fun experience.

So, with that in mind, Ralsei smiled and gave his friends a shy thumbs-up. “I’m ready, I think. On to the next adventure!”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate all forms of kudos/comments/etc <3


End file.
